The upcoming issue of the comic of Supergirl (#19) will feature a non-binary person of color named Lee Serano. The authors of the comic will be openly gay comics writer Steve Orlando and non-binary writer Vita Ayala. While Serano isn’t the first non-binary comic book character, the Supergirl non-binary character will introduce tens to hundreds of thousands of Supergirl readers to non-binary issues, a positive step forward for genderqueer representation in comics.

What does “non-binary” mean and how will it effect the Supergirl non-binary character?

Non-binary (sometimes called “genderqueer”) refers to a person whose gender isn’t exclusively masculine or feminine‍, existing between or outside of the cisnormative male or female gender binary. Sometimes non-binary people identify as a changing mix of male and female (genderfluid), having two or more genders (bigender, trigender or pangender), as a third gender or as having no gender at all (agender, nongender or neutrois).

It’s unclear which type of non-binary identity Serano will ascribe to. However, it seems as if their story will cover the hardships of being a young non-binary person. Here’s the description of the upcoming Supergirl issue:

In his search to write a CatCo piece on the truth about Supergirl, Ben Rubel interviews a young kid named Lee Serano, who recently became friends with the Girl of Steel. As Lee struggles with their parents and bullies at school for acceptance as non-binary, Supergirl is caught between punching her way through the problem and standing beside Lee as a symbol of hope.

CatCo is a media conglomerate in Supergirl’s world.

Supergirl and non-binary person of color, Lee Serano

The Supergirl non-binary character isn’t the first of its kind

Serano is hardly the first-ever non-binary character in a superhero series. The Crystal Gems from the Cartoon Network sci-fi series Steven Universe are agender, even though they often present as femme.